Performance vs objectives
We have set objectives for Growth, Balanced, Conservative and Cash in order to set the appropriate investment strategy for these funds and help monitor their performance. You’ll find more information about the objectives below the tables and in our Statement of Investment Policy and Objectives.
Returns by option
Returns and objectives for periods ended 30 September 2019 (after tax and fees).
Growth
Objective: Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 2.75%
| CPI | Objective (CPI + 2.75%) |
Return | Return vs objective* | |
| One year | 1.51% | 4.26% | 5.19% | 0.94% |
| Three years (average per year) | 1.77% | 4.52% | 8.48% | 3.96% |
| Five years (average per year) | 1.23% | 3.98% | 8.07% | 4.06% |
| Ten years (average per year) | 1.53% | 4.28% | 8.74% | 4.31% |
Balanced
Objective: Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 2.25%
| CPI | Objective (CPI + 2.25%) |
Return | Return vs objective* | |
| One year | 1.51% | 3.76% | 5.46% | 1.70% |
| Three years (average per year) | 1.77% | 4.02% | 6.82% | 2.79% |
| Five years (average per year) | 1.23% | 3.48% | 6.70% | 3.19% |
| Ten years (average per year) | 1.53% | 3.78% | 7.27% | 3.35% |
Conservative
Objective: Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 1.25%
| CPI | Objective (CPI + 1.25%) |
Return | Return vs objective* | |
| One year | 1.51% | 2.76% | 5.11% | 2.35% |
| Three years (average per year) | 1.77% | 3.02% | 4.22% | 1.20% |
| Five years (average per year) | 1.23% | 2.48% | 4.59% | 2.00% |
| Ten years (average per year) | 1.53% | 2.78% | 5.17% | 1.96% |
*The objectives for Growth, Balanced and Conservative were changed in 2015, which is why these figures don’t equal the return less the objective listed here.
Cash
Objective: S&P/NZX Bank Bills 90-Day Index after tax
| Return | Return vs objective | |
| One year | 1.69% | +0.33% |
| Three years (average per year) | 1.69% | +0.27% |
| Five years (average per year) | 1.98% | +0.22% |
| Ten years (average per year) | 2.17% | +0.27% |
Objectives
Growth, Balanced and Conservative
Inflation erodes the value of your investment. The higher the rate of inflation, the higher the return needs to be to maintain the buying power of your savings. This is why the objectives for the three main funds are based on a margin over inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index).
The other side of the equation is volatility or risk. The objective for each fund addresses the likelihood of negative returns both in terms of frequency and magnitude.
The timeframe included in each objective applies to the minimum time that an investor may have to invest in the option to achieve the objectives. The more growth-oriented the fund, the longer the timeframe. That’s because returns from growth assets can be expected to be more volatile from year to year than returns from income assets, which tend to be more consistent.
- Growth aims to achieve returns of 2.75% above inflation over rolling 10-year periods, while keeping the risk of a member losing more than 20% after inflation in any one year reasonably small.
- Balanced aims to achieve returns of 2.25% above inflation over rolling seven-year periods, while keeping the risk of a member losing more than 15% after inflation in any one year reasonably small.
- Conservative aims to keep the risk of a member losing more than 5% after inflation in any one year reasonably small while typically achieving returns of 1.25% above inflation over rolling three-year periods.
Cash
Cash is designed for short-term saving where the main consideration is preserving capital (avoiding a negative return). The objective for this fund is to provide a return broadly in line with that of the S&P/NZX Bank Bills 90-Day Index after tax. There is a very small probability of experiencing a loss in any one year. There is also a risk that the value of your savings may not keep with pace with inflation over time.
The S&P/NZX Bank Bills 90-Day Index is designed to measure the performance of a portfolio of bank bills. Bank bills are short-term securities issued by banks, maturing over 31 to 90 days.